Chiraq—How Chicago Became The Deadliest City In America

Chicago is the third most populated city in the United States and has long been seen as a bustling, international hub for some of the world’s largest industries including finance, communications, and transportation. Chicago has the fourth-largest gross domestic product (GDP) among metropolitan areas in the world and is a veritable melting pot of different races, cultures, and beliefs. The tourist brochures boast cultural attractions, scenic views, and a “close-knit” community. But the realities of some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods might make you think twice before booking a ticket to the Windy City.

So, with all that Chicago has going for it, why was one of America’s greatest cities recently dubbed “Chiraq” a nickname that parallels the iconic city to a violent war zone?

The name Chiraq first emerged after it was widely reported that more people had been murdered in Chicago in the last decade than the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. According to WND news, “Between 2003 and 2011, 4,265 people were murdered in the city of Chicago. In 2012 alone, 512 people were murdered in the city.” The death toll has continued to climb in 2013, as Chicago officially became the murder capital of the United States. Compare that to, “Operation Enduring Freedom, the name for the war in Afghanistan, which started Oct. 7, 2001, has seen a total of 2,166 killed.” These numbers generated many headlines proclaiming that Chicago was officially more deadly than an active war zone. . . hence the disturbing new nickname, Chiraq.

What Happened?

While most cities in America have become safer over the last decade, Chicago is the exception to the rule. In the early 2000s, Chicago demolished its inner city project housing, hoping to break up the gangs that ruled them, and scattered its residents throughout the city. While the towering buildings of the projects were certainly a horrific place to call home, and were ruled entirely by the gangs that lived there, they were actually serving as a kind of dysfunctional insulator for gang activity, shielding the majority of the city from the violence within.

After the projects were demolished, the residents that lived there were given Section 8 housing and relocated. Suddenly, hundreds of warring gang members were uprooted from their homes and placed in the middle of rival, unfamiliar territories. That’s when the violence began.

In addition to poorly thought-out city planning, former Chicago gang members offer another explanation for the sudden uptick in gun violence: pride. In a VICE documentary on Chiraq an anonymous gang dropout says, “We weren’t brought up to shoot people. We were decent with our hands.” Another ex-gang member said,

The kids now, they’re scared to lose. So they’d rather bring a gun to the table and just murder everything.

Add in high unemployment levels, failing school districts, the closing of mental facilities, and the foreclosure crisis to the already volatile housing situation in Chicago, and you have a deadly recipe for complete and utter chaos.

Guns

If mixing the city’s warring gangs together was the catalyst for all this fighting, increased accessibility to guns paved the way for a war. In Chicago, handguns are everywhere, and as a result, police and community leaders are fighting a losing battle against street violence. The Chicago Sun-Times did a story on just how easy it is for young kids to get their hands on a gun. They interviewed a teenager named Chris who said, “I will make a call and say I need a gun. I will ride down the street on my bike and get it — five minutes.”

Chris says he knows men whose full-time job is to legally buy guns from stores and sell them to Chicago’s gangs. He calls them “gun guys.” He said, “Somebody that got a gun license, they buy the gun, scratch off the serial number and sell it to you.” Chris says a decent semi-automatic handgun costs around $600 on the street.

The VICE documentary showed a press conference held by Chicago Police Department’s Superintendent, Garry McCarthy. When asked why guns are so plentiful in Chicago, he said:

You can walk into any gun shop in Illinois, buy 10 nine-millimeters, and walk out the door. It’s only one recorded transaction, and we don’t know where those guns go. They hit the streets in enormous numbers. To me that’s just crazy.

According to one police chief in the documentary, the city of Chicago is home to over 69 gangs with over 625 different factions who are constantly at war with each other. There are so many gangs packed into such a cramped space, that some “territories” consist of no more than about two city blocks. If a gang member ventures outside this narrow perimeter, they’re at risk of being shot.

Medical Treatment

To make matters exponentially worse, some of Chicago’s hospitals have actually stopped treating bullet wound victims. Residents on the South Side of Chicago (the neighborhood with the highest level of gang activity) don’t even have a hospital nearby that will take gunshot victims—despite the fact that there are THREE hospitals in that neighborhood.

For various reasons, these hospitals have closed their trauma centers and cannot admit people with serious injuries (like a bullet wound). Some speculate that the motivation behind closing these trauma centers was purely financial since most victims of gun violence didn’t have insurance. Now those who’ve been shot in the South Side can only be seen at hospitals that are 20-30 minutes away uptown. Many have argued that the longer transport times to the trauma centers have contributed to a higher mortality rate for gunshot victims in Chicago.

Regarding Chicago’s relationship to the rest of the U.S., long-time social activist and community leader, Reverend Michael Pfleger said:

There has been a conscious decision to let some communities fall apart. As long as it’s contained, and that it doesn’t seep over. But guess what America? It is seeping over. Drugs did. Violence is, and now poverty is ‘cause what used to be the middle class is now poor. Wake up.

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About Author

Jessica Ruane is a savvy San Diego blogger and cat enthusiast. She loves researching bizarre crimes and is never surprised by all the weird, wonderful, and strange things that people do every day. She studied literature and creative writing at UC Santa Cruz and has a die-hard passion for the written word. Find her on Google+

Kip, That is the most ignorant thing I”ve heard!!! Wake up!!! Admittedly, Most ALL in politics are crooked! But sadly Democrats are the worst! There is no such thing as “FREE” Stuff!! Who do you think pays for this so called “Free” stuff? You and I do! Everyone!!! When you people realize there is no such thing as free stuff, maybe then you’ll realize that voting them back in over and over again is NOT helping, but making matters far worse.

Republicans are not the answer… I never understood why there are only 2 parties though, it makes no sense. The views of republicans reminds me of people from the 1950s or even earlier, when people still went to church etc. It’s 2014, and basing anything on religion, anything at all (abortion is a choice, get over it), is absurd. There are people who believe in voodoo and all sorts of religions, why don’t they get the same respect Christians do? It’s all nonsense, and until the republican party moves away from religion in all facets, I think many people will vote democrat simply because, like me. Trust me when I say this, America will be 90% atheist/agnostic before I die. Believing in god is not the norm anymore, stop putting it in politics to please old/stubborn/brainwashed people.

The most liberal progressive cities and states in America have the worse economies and the track record of this evidence over the years can no longer be disputed. I consider my self to be a conservative Democrat, a John F Kennedy Democrat but with current Democrat ideology men like Kennedy would no longer be nominated or elected to any thing.

Abortion is a choice? Get over it?
Well, killing a baby is a choice also?
The problem with today’s society is that people don’t want to be responsible for their acts, they just want to enjoy pleasure, live a life as hedonistic as possible, then not deal with the consequences.
If you’re a woman, and you don’t want to kill a baby (that’s what abortion is), then don’t fuck or at least use a contraceptive. There is no justification at all to kill a baby, b/c that’s what is inside a womb after conception happens. It is morally wrong, it is abusive, mean, and inhuman. This world is upside down, OMFG!!!!

well lets just make sure everyone knows the poor economy is the primary reason for most of the crime, and remember how the economy was before Bush became president, he sold us all out to line his and his oil buddies pockets……….

Kip your a typical sissy leftwinged cry baby, vote for the better man instead of democrats all the time, Il. is a stupid place that goes down hill beacuse they vote fror losers and by what you wrote you just want free stuff, typical leftwinger yet obama took more away then any other president, that show what you know, dumbass.

Through the years it seems all politicans are in it for themselves and not the good of the people. It goes for both parties. They want to line their pockets with gold. They don’t care what’s good for the country either. Most of them are narcistic with big egos looking to keep their jobs for as long as they can. Usually well past their expiration date.

In Chicago the only people getting any FREE benefits are the illegals. And that is a fact !!! Have lived in Chicago all my life, it gets worse every year and has nothing to do if you are a dem or rep. Just idiots

The people who are totally against the 2nd amendment miss a very important reason for the amendment,to defend ones self and family. The liberals in their”deluded world” think that banning all guns would stop the useless killing. It is the liberals ‘enabling that has caused the youth of this country
in particular, the minority youth to become murderous. The removal of responsibility from creating non families,and the lessening of the value of human life ( abortion) and the removal of religious values from the schools and homes have allowed the youth of our country to seek acceptance from gangs rather than a stable community. There are citys and some states in the U.S. that have few or no gun laws Vermont,Utah,Alaska etc.that have fewer cases of murder and other “gun crimes” An old saying is

“an armed population is a polite population” Liberal Democrats with the convoluted ACLUs’ interperbertation of the law has caused more death, than the “black plague”

Right on the money, Frank. Nearly all of America’s ills can be squarely blamed on liberals and democrats. But they’re so ideologically driven that they’ve become delusional and detached from reality. Just look at who’s occupying the white house. The founders crafted our magnificent Constitution exactly to try to protect us from an obbamma, but his corruption and malevolence may be even stronger than what our forefathers could have forseen. The kenyan may have permanently pulled us into a dark age of post-constitutional oppression – unless we can defeat the left-wing despots who currently run amok.

The first thing people start to do is fight about political parties, Everyone needs to wake up to this I am a Republican/ Democrat stuff. Neither party care about you people. The Republican Party could care less if you live or die. Like wise the Democratic party could care less if you die. One thing we all agree on is the politicians are the problem. Now what are we going to do about solving the problem? Voting in another candidate is not going to solve the problem so what are we going to do? The most viable answer would be to get rid of the politicians and start over.

Why do people always want to put politics in it?? Stop being ignorant, if you don’t live in Chi*Town you dont understand how this city works..I lived and banged in them streets, but we have to go back as far as Al Capone. Money, greed, and POWER this is what makes this “GREAT” city!! Every dam politition has had their hands in the pot and every politition works for themselves and not the people, bottom line!! Chicago has always been a seperative city, that’s why race wars may not be an issue but they’re seperated for a reason. Gangs have always had a foothold in politics because drugs are gold in the streets. I have witnessed tons of weed, kilos of cocaine, herion, and a whole lot of money. The can’t stop corruption when corruption is in your own home. Many politicians have family in gangs and get funded by them. Oh to that idiot that’s an athiest, which I think he or she are gay, listen brah, I know you don’t believe that’s your gift and choice, but weather you agree or disagree, The Bible does say all what you said is bound to happen, just like soddom and gamora. There will be wars, sexual immorality, death, sorrow and we (humans) can’t stop this. We humans will destroy this world by our own actions!! Take it for what its worth, I have changed my life of 18 years of street life, now I have a degree and live in a different state.. Peace

In 1969 I spent every other weekend in Chicago from July -Dec.I would take the train from the Navy base and walk around the popular parts of the great city.The only problem I had was some young kids hitting me up for change.I had always carried a roll of quarters. =======.One time I missed the train back to my base and stayed in a homeless shelter.I met a lot of good people down on their luck because of many problems they had that got them to this point.Chicago is a great city and we should all know by now what is happening and the causes.There is no excuse for what our government is doing to send our jobs over seas.Chicago might be the first Detroit will be the second and I can go on and on.What we have is a country full of people that think imports are good for them and to hell with the rest, you are in for a big surprise if we all live long enough to see.I know my children and grand children will see it.I do not like to predict the future but all I see going on in the Middle East is going to happen right here in the USA.

Detroit’s second??? It’s been dead here. Have you ever been? It looks like it’s been bombed a thousand times over! Why do you think everyone is moving out to cities like yours. Actually, that might be another reason Chicago’s getting worse. Chiraq? We got a miniature Iraq right here!!!

its your own damn fault. so many people think that they are bigger and badder than anyone else….what u expect. People trying to get something for nothing…ok, through fear and intimidation. If that is how u think…u r THE PROBLEM. This nation was not built on those principles. If u dont like where u r at…..LEAVE.

This has been a long time coming. For years those in charge of Chicago have been content to allow killings and gang violence in any area as long as it was not in their neighborhood. It is an absolute terror to live in these areas of the city. There must now at last be an organized effort to help our citizens. There must be jobs created, child care availability, and family support. Fathers need to take care of their children. Mothers need to be responsible mothers too, and if dad won’t do it, then Mom must. Each child born must be valued by his family, no matter what the circumstances of his birth. Morality, once assumed desired by all seems to have fallen by the wayside. We need to remind our young people that values and goodness are still desirable traits to strive for. We need parents to be firm yet loving and understanding about the difficult world our children have inherited from us. We need to restore the family unit and make sure each child feels safe and loved and has a safe haven to come home to. We need our churches to lead the way to a better life for all Chicago citizens.

Thanks for your insightful comment Carolyn. The situation in Chicago is nothing short of heartbreaking. I agree with your point about strengthening the family unit. Finding a solution for the violence in Chicago will be a community effort, but it absolutely needs to start in the home first.

As I said I was born & raised in Chicago’s south side back then we did not have a lot of money either but everybody worked had jobs & us kids did not have babysitters, but the neighborhood & the beat cop took care of us. The beat cop was our friend because he knew every thing about us & if he told our folks we would be killed I do not think he would have ever but us in jail but knowing he would tell was enough so we never really got in big trouble, I di one time that I completely wiped out of my mind until my mom reminded me, she worked & I was not allowed to have kids in house if she was not home, I wanted to have a party we got beer from the corner bar & put fridge outside & partied in street the beat cop called my mom, she had to take off work to come home & deal with me. I cannot tell you what she did because I did not even remember it happening & she did not tell me what she did but it must have worked because I forgot about it happening for 30+ years & never did that again. Now a days no telling how that same thing would play out ,we have babies having babies while the rest of us foot the bills. We were poor but I do not believe there was such a thing as welfare, people helped each other & GOD & the Priest played a big part in your life whether you wanted it or not. That’s just the way it was our parents were not our buddies & if they told us to do something & we said why the answer was BECAUSE I SAID SO case closed.

You don’t remember what your mother did to teach you a lesson. She probably pulled your underwear down out on the porch, pulled you over her knee, and gave you a thorough beating on your buttocks so that you were sore for three or four days. You don’t remember it because it was so traumatic, being exposed like that in front of the neighborhood kids, not to mention the soreness and inflammation on your rear end. This was typical among white working class parents in America up through the last decade or so of the 20th century. Now you can’t do anything like that, since social services and child protective services would be all in her face alleging child abuse and neglect. You might even get taken away from her if she tried that now. She’d have to go to hearings, be examined by a psychiatrist, be questioned by a panel, all to show she was a fit parent and that she should be returned to her parental custody.

Now instead of churches and parochial schools, where all the kids have to wear uniforms, act properly (lest they be thoroughly punished by one of the sisters), Chicago has bath houses, where guys like Rahm and Baracka hang out, playing with other men’s privates. (Disgusting!).

This article is rife with fiction,half-truths & sensationalist hyperbole from an obviously biased author suffering from early-onset dementia via all the Fukushima Japan nuclear contamination certain wannabe Kalifornia journalist’s brains are being bombarded with??!! Aside from Englewood District,I haven’t & wouldn’t hesitate to walk,drive or visit ANY neighborhood in Chicago,but I can’t say the same for the cities I’ve visited or lived in or near in Kalifornia,whose gang-banging,crime-ridden,corruptly governed infamy is suspiciously omitted by the obviously biased author of this shiite pc of journalistic bile! If the author is seeking to further a career in investigative journalism,I suggest she/he keep their day job if this example of their skillset is assumed to be worthy enough to be of help to their resume or credibility beyond their opinion of their own work or congratulations from their “fan club” whose own problems including their gay bath house fantasies with Rahm Emanuel has more to worry about than rising crime statistics,which btw are not limited to Chicago. And I’ve wasted enough time on this poorly written bs already. Catchyalaterwhenyourlegsarestraighter.”You have been weighed,measured & found WANTING”=EPIC FAIL!!!

I was born & raised in Chicago’s south side at that time Polish & Italian. We hung out on street corners but not the same we just met friends there & hung out went to pizza parlors etc. I went back about 15 years ago to see my sister I wanted to go by our old house she said no but I finally talked her into going, we drove thru quickly doors locked I would have been afraid to stop car, I did not even recognize my own house, it was very scary. No matter what your religion is YOU NEED GOD IN YOUR LIFE with out him we all shall perish, We need to band together & make sure GOD remains 1st & foremost in our lives.

LEIGH,
Finally someone with something positive. I agree with you because I also lived in CHICAGO but by then the community was going no-where. I was sucked in the web of money and power, respect and the violence just added to my fire of hate, it was engulfing my soul. Now I do have Jesus in my heart and I am at peace because I am a new man by his grace, Thanks..

It’s crazy how all this murder can happen and nobody even has any knowledge of it. More people being killed here at home than a war. That’s fucken crazy. I live in san Jose California were their has always been gangs with a murder rate of about 50 murders per year but I can see that growing since 1990 with the rise of sureno gangs southerner have grown in great numbers and their rivals are the nortenos Northeners Mexican gangs from California. Before 1990 I didn’t even here of these gangs and I am Mexican. after the movie Colors it seems like gang killing became more rampant. I’ve been a victim of this violence being mistaken as a gang member being stabbed several times and my car shot up. 500 plus murder per year it seem like a trend if not stopped will spread to a neighborhood near you. Whats it going to take to end this trend a politician’s kid to get smoked killed. it sucks that our country is so fucked. Neighs don’t even talk like they did in the past. The only thing I can suggest is to start with the kindergarteners and start feeding their minds with more alternatives in anger management life problem solving solutions, changing their idea of violence, and family values, before the streets get to them even if they live in the streets or a hood. We need start from young mind so we can save some souls. God Bless America

Chicago’s violence goes back a lot further than tearing down inner city housing.
Organized crime took roots back in the late 1800′s. It infiltrated the cities politics and its law enforcement. Add that to today’s entitlement mentality, top off with a heavy drug culture, and sprinkle a heavy dose of turning our backs on God, and you have
CHICAGO.
Might I add that this corrupt, bribe paying, ruthless political scene is where our beloved President got his training and you will have a better understanding of why our federal government is in the shape its in. It is no accident. Things are going EXACTLY the way Obama wants and designed it to go. It is going to get bloody in the next several months.

Jeffry,
I was just about to applaud you untill you decided to go with this Obama blame, like all the others.. It’s a shame because you were making sense, but you start pointing fingers. Obama didn’t create Al Capone and the millions that fell in the political parties, which the roots of them can still be seen in todays politicians of CHICAGO!! PEOPLE, in the early 90′s CHICAGO had well over 900 MURDERS, LOOK IT UP, this is just another SWAY of politicians wanting more money for their pockets. Look up how big is the police force in CHICAGO! Let’s speak truth, when NY or LA HAD A RISE IN murders, NO ONE SAID IT’S THE PRESIDENT FAULT! When Clinton was running for President and Arkansas saw a high rise of gang murders no one cried it’s the Clintons fault, C’Mon mannn!!

Add in high unemployment levels, failing school districts, the closing of mental facilities, and the foreclosure crisis to the already volatile housing situation in Chicago, and you have a deadly recipe for complete and utter chaos………………….Would the decades old Democratly owned city have any thing to do with it?

I just watched a show on T.V. today about Chicago when Al CAPONE ran? city even then it seemed as if people not connected were even threatened, He was kind of before my time but my mother would not listen or believe anything bad about him but I guess Chicago has always had problems?

I knew Chicago was not a top rate city when i spent a summer there back in ’81 and went to some strip clubs near what I think is called Old Town, or something like that. The strip clubs were really mediocre, some of the worst I’ve seen.

I would have hoped they got to work on that there. The city that started Playboy should certainly have some first rate gentleman’s clubs.

what this person failed to make note of is that the population has the largest concentration of muzzies in the region! ther city of det-rot is 2nd! gee, think will contribute to the name CHIRAQ?! thanks hillie,gillie.billie.chill;ie for alls this. klinton was most responsible for illegals into the country then all the mex cumin ovr the border with the coyotes.

Jose… You are exactly right! And no one stops to think that he was a senator there for what a month? And like someone already commented above.. It “is” and has been a fully Democratic State. Gee perhaps people need to re think this so called free stuff they feed them and stop to think there is no such thing as free stuff. We “ALL” pay for it! Nothing is free. And besides, they aren’t going to give you anything if it does not benefit them to make them richer and continue to make Americans poorer. The Government is definitely not our friend. What ever happened to “We The People”? We have the right to fire every single one of them. Why hasn’t this happened yet? I am still shocked that Obama hasn’t been impeached yet. Wow. And was actually voted in for a second term! My Word! There will be no more America left…no more “home of the “Free” and land of the “Brave”. It’s scary.

* Notice that they only tell you and lie to you about catering to certain ethnic groups or woman to gain votes along with trying to secure more democrat votes for free stuff. There are no jobs! And everyone now seems to be on Government aid of some sort. Better for the Government to keep us down and control us.
I’d like to know why people still fall for it? Like exactly what real good has he done the black American? NOTHING! But keep them depended on Government aide… Same with Latino’s. The democratic party has single handed destroyed America.

Sorry… It cut off some of my comment above so I’ll add it here. Not only the Black American and Latino’s but all ethnic groups are now depended on some type of Government funding. We’ve become the Food stamp capital of the world. It’s sickening.

I am old enough now I get my deceased husbands S.S.[widows pension] I had some tell me I was getting help from the GOVERNMENT that is money we paid in our whole lives we were married almost 40 years & I still work & do not draw mine so I am still paying in, but I could not live on it alone so I guess I will be working until the day I die. But I do wonder just what I would have in bank if I would have taken that money & put in bank if future would be brighter.

Karen, you hit the nail on the head! A root cause of so much of what goes on is laid at the feet of Obama! e ahs no love for America. His father brainwashed him with hatred for our wealth and our standing among he nations, the he encountered two professors, one in Columbia U and another in Harvard, that bastion of liberalism

its your own damn fault. so many people think that they are bigger and badder than anyone else….what u expect. People trying to get something for nothing…ok, through fear and intimidation. If that is how u think…u r THE PROBLEM. This nation was not built on those principles. If u dont like where u r at…..LEAVE.

All that is going on cannot be blamed on one person, especially not the president of the united states. Things of this nature have been going on long before the current president was in office. it comes back, in my opinion, to not holding accountable those that feel the need to take advantage of those around them. Trying to get something for nothing. Mom and dad, hold your kids accountable, but that would mean that u hold yourself accountable first

when will you people realize the illusion of political parties? democrat? republican? banks and corporations RULE this country, and any ‘president’ who sits in office is a puppet. blame obama? chicago was poverty stricken and violent before obama was born. he’s a puppet. all you do is follow the puppet. you never look for the had that controls it.

If the source article states: Less than 1 percent of the murders in Chicago between 2003 and 2011 were committed with what the Chicago Police Department classifies as a “rifle,” then why the illustration for this article. Seems rather misleading, no?

This Democrat Party was hijacked by far left ideologues when Obama was elected and no longer bears any resemblance to the party I remember when people looked up to presidents like Kennedy. The Chicago style machine politics of what’s in it for me and the Saul Alinsky followers are what exist in Washington on the party I once looked up to. I’ll never trust a Democrat again. I’d vote for even the worst Republican candidates of the past over these guys now!

To follow up my last comment…The most liberal progressive cities and states in America have the worse economies and the track record of this evidence over the years can no longer be disputed. Many of these cities have the worse crime rates because they’re soft on enforcing the laws and judges who are too lenient feed into the problem. This is the major cause of what’s happening in Chicago today.

I’m 60, immigrant at 3 raised in The City That Worked. That was the nickname, and “Windy CIty” refers to filibusters that could stall a legislative proposal from being voted on. Not from the weather. Did you know that? Why the hell not?

The City That Worked meant that the late Great Richard J. Daley (King of Chicago) made sure everyone who wanted a job could get one. No, you weren’t promised to be CEO of GM, but you could afford to rent an apartment and raise your family, unless there were 12 of them. I remember my Dad saying, “Vie Vill Never Go on Velfare.” So at $0.25/hour he worked his ass off.

The neighborhood of Germans, Poles, Italians, Irish, everyone had their place and respected each other. I worked as a lifeguard on the beaches and being part of “The Daley Machine” you could live a good life if you weren’t “stupid.” During the moronic NDC in 1968, and riots he gave the order, “To shoot to kill anyone looting, or carrying a Molotov Cocktail.” Right On!

I lived in San Jose for 25 years. I never saw a person from India doing a Drive By Shooting. Go figure. Was there a level of corrupt politics? Hell ya. But, we as working class immigrants reaped the benefits of a safe home, work, schools without metal detectors, parks you could actually walk in at day’s end with the family, without fear of being mugged or beaten. Screw these hoodlums from you know where. They bring crime from their home countries, or just because they make more money selling dope. They cannot be re-educated, and correctional facilities like Joliet — please don’t waste my tax dollars, and don’t let them out. Murder? Kill ‘em. Rape, cut off their nuts. End of freakin’ story.

We were poor. Darned socks, but never dirty clothes, and a hot meal every day as my Pop worked all the overtime he could. I am swam 10,000 yards/day to earn 17 scholarships, one was even to Vanderbilt. But, I knew nothing about the well-to-do kids at the U. of Illinois in Urbana that I attended and played water polo.

Yes, we had our gangs, I was TJO, but we fought with brass knuckles and baseball bats. The neighborHOOD was protected, the delic owners appreciate our presence. Then came the freeloading population with their hands out. The more children ya had the money ya got from welfare. The father lived somewhere else, they built Cabrini Greens to house people, so they turned it into a ghetto. Even repair people were too afraid to fix stuff since they might not make it out alive.

Then came the “panther” misfits. Under whatever guise they had their followers to protest the “injustice.”
We didn’t have that in the Old Country, nor any other country. At that time, without being politically correct so to speak, the cops stormed the panther’s meeting place with automatic weapons and wiped the bastards out. Now, in Oakland they celebrate these hoodlums for an entire MONTH! Every other real immigrant group has a single Day, like Polish Day, or Irish Day (St. Patricks). The Puerto Ricans had a week to burn all their own homes down.

WTF, doesn’t anyone have the kahunas to blow these J.O.’s away. I mean public hangings, arm the cops with *real* firearms like we can here in Washington State and where grandmas protect their homes with shotguns. The required Draft in the military seems to work in Switzerland. In my day, if you messed up, the judge gave you 2 options: a) jail, b) enlist. A drill Sergeant would straightening them out.

I guess this is what happens when too many Tree-Huggers run the joint. Fear works; whack ‘em and the streets will be for the law abiding citizens again. Just one year with Goebbels at the helm and watch how safe Chicago, my beloved home town, would be again. The architectural hub of the United States could claim its place again as a city rich in culture and structure.

Enough pussy-footing around. No social promotion. If you don’t do your homework, then stay in 4th grade until you’re 30. No one will agree with my ranting anyway, so you’ll have the same crap you currently have. Put these gangsters on a chain and fix highways for free. Save the tax dollars and let the thugs do the work. Chain gangs with shotguns to keep ‘em inline.

The primary cause of this is the War on Drugs and the black market it has both created and sustained. It is a disaster, just like the original Prohibition before it. It only took a few years of THAT before the people who were calling the loudest to repeal it included those who had called the loudest to institute it — as it had almost exactly the OPPOSITE effect as had been intended. When will people learn that suppressing a symptom instead of DEALING with the underlying causes is almost a guaranteed way to make things worse rather than better. People are going to do drugs and every other wrong thing you can name whether you make it illegal or not. Sanity is facing reality and using society’s resources in constructive ways to deal with the social problems that are ALWAYS going to be there as long as there are human beings. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Chicago has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, unfortunately, they fail to enforce these laws against the gang bangers and it is the criminals who are doing the killing. At least most of the time it is done between the gangs which is good. Less gang members means a safer city.

It’s all very simple to fix. Reinstate the draft then all these dirt bags, illegals, and whatever else is out there will have to be accounted for. This will get kids an education, get them off the streets, and also abolish the gangs. With the draft reinstated, you will either be in school, then a four year college, ro you will be serving two years in the Army. The illegals will be easier to pick out and will be deported. Everyone will have a place to be. Very simple.

The most factual phrase that I have ever heard is this simple – ‘Follow the Money’ If you ever truly want to find the answer to a problem with society, as of today, then follow the money.
What did you really think those restructured zones in Chicago was because of the gangs and crime? Funny, I wonder why the vacated zones now have a very high property tax? Here it gets better…
I have seen a ‘Drive-by-Shooting’ where 2 cops in a squad car were literally half a block away, those cops were present at the shooting and never left their car, they never even turned on their Marz lights, let alone pursue the criminals. Could you blame them?? The cops have 2 pistols and 1 shot gun between 2 men, while the gangs have a minivan with 9 gang members with access to 3 automatic rifles (AK 47′s) each and God only knows how many hand guns. Would you enter into a gun fight with those odds? What do you really think the elected officials of Chicago or Illinois, for that matter, do not know this?
How many of you truly understand that most prisons are corporate owned and operated? What does this mean?? Ever hear of slave labor? Think that is a false statement; really huh? Then why is there a public stock that is trading to this day (since 1981, when Pres. Reagan authorized this corporate prison program) shows a gains when the prisons are over crowded. These prisons WANT drug abusers, because they are the most compliant inmates with 2-5 year sentences willing to do whatever to get home, so they are placed on work crews earning 5 cents an hour while the corporate prison is earning millions.
So how do they get these drugs? The Gangs duh!! What do you really think they will legalize an empire of corruption where many Officails are getting paid under the counter?? WAKE UP!!! Does anyone even know how many IL treasurers (not just Chicago) that have been arrested for stealing over 100k from their municipalities in the past 10 years? Do you really think this is going to change?
If you truly want to know why anything in our country is done a certain way by our elected officials, then you just follow the money. If anyone thinks that any political office in Chicago is there for the people, then your naïve ignorance has hit an all new low. Nothing is going to change except the death toll and an increase to the corporate owned prison population. Gangs will fight to be able to earn as much drug dealing money as possible and the idiot people will insist on blaming the wrong parties and never want to truly expose the ridiculous corruption. If Chief Wiggums kickback purse gets light in Chicago, then the people will just suffer more. What are all of you 6 years old and just refuse to see the simplicity of this operation? Do you really think the state of IL will legalize drugs so the corrupt politicians and law enforcement will settle for less money that they do not have to report every year?? What do you really think Peter Pan is real?? I see these articles and I honestly get sick to my stomach at the obvious truth is danced around like a bunch of 5 year olds. Wake up or even better, you wanna earn a couple hundred thousand extra in your yearly earnings? Come to Chicago and deal drugs to passive non-violent drug abusers for a year or 2 and then move out before the gangs get wind of you taking away from their profits, cause they will kill ya. Law enforcement will just want a kickback (DUHH!!) HEY can we raise the bar in common sense here? I truly doubt it will. Follow the damn money morons.

Jessica Ruane please do some due diligence in your research before publishing such an article. I live in the area and your article is very misleading and in some cases totally inaccurate.

While Chicago does have the most amount of murders of any American city, it does not have the highest murder rate. Rate is calculated by amount of murders per population of people. Just think, there are approximately 2.7 million people in the city, there are going to be higher totals of crime, total millionaires, foreclosures, cars etc.. because of the sheer volume of people. It doesn’t mean on a per person level that Chicago has more of these things.

If you want to look at high murder rates, the following cities are much higher: According to the FBI figures, Flint, Mich., had the highest murder rate of cities over 100,000 in 2012, the most recent year available. There were 62 murders per 100,000 population, followed by Detroit (54.6 murders per 100,000), New Orleans (53.2 per 100,000) and Jackson, Miss., (35.8 per 100,000). Chicago, whose population is several times bigger than any of those cities, came in 21st, with 18.5 murders per 100,000

If you looked at FBI crime statistics over the last several decades you will find that crime nation wide (including murder) has gone down. For instance in 1994 Chicago had over 994 murders. In 2013 there were under 500 here.

In 1994, New Orleans led with 85.8 murders per 100,000; the next two cities, Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C., had rates of 70 or more per 100,000.

Even though crime has gone down, the amount available news sources have greatly increased. As a result more of these crimes get reported on a 24 hour news cycle than ever before. Studies of shown a correlation that this can lead some to believe that crime overall is worse today than in the past, even though statistics show it is not.

Also, please know that the South Side of Chicago is not a “neighborhood” it is an area that contains many small neighborhoods. And there are over 8 hospitals in the area that I know of. Its also a federal law that all hospitals must treat ER patients, so none of these hospitals would turn away a victim.

As someone who has worked in the media industry before, please report factually before publishing.

Chiraq why not chisral Israel is very dangerous place on earth not Iraq . We made Iraq mess and God made Israel hell. Israel will be worst than Chicago one day when all zio will come to live in this hell will be worst than our beautiful Chicago. Why Italian people are living in Chicago that why it is like Iraq, How about our senate is worst than Chicago where all drug dealer and gun manufacture are Zio are controlling . Black are not worst blue eyes are hell.

I suppose the most important thing to do right now, is to bring back religious education is school. Ever since they removed God and prayers in school, terrible things has been happening everywhere. It is like we are driving uphill, and then suddenly it is being reversed downhill in the middle of nowhere and we do not have the brakes functioning.

Yes Illinois is one of the most corrupts states in the union . Theres no doubt about it ! Look at how many Governors that went to jail alone in this state . Chicago ,well that speaks for its self . The Daley machine was as corrupt as it could get , thwe cops were the best “money could buy ” I know I bought one off for only $5.00 ,YES (five dollars ) so that should tell you what a great police force they have . At one time ,the cops were just one step above organized crime themselves ,so that should tell you something !
But yes ,this is NOT a city you want to live in . Go within 1 mile in any direction you better be carring a gun ,and even especially DOWN TOWN CHICAGO
LETS END THIS LITTLE COMMENT BY SAYING IN 10 MORE YEARS ,YOUR GONNA BE LOOKING AT ANOTHER DETROIT ,GET READY ,ITS COMUING FASTER THAN YOU THINK !!!!!!!!

GOVERNMENT ENSLAVE PEOPLE AND DO NOT WORK, HISTORY REPEATS IT SELF. WELCOME TO AMERICAN DREAM- HOW I CAN ENSLAVE MORE AMERICANS SO I DONT HAVE TO WORK. IF YOU DISAGREE YOU ALREADY AGREEING WORKING HARD SO I CAN PAY TAXES! FUCK GOVERNMENT AND WHO IS THERE FOR A RIDE. CORRUPTION ON THE STREETS? NONE, BECAUSE PEOPLE FIGHT, KILLING PEOPLE? BAD AND THOSE DESERVE TO DIE AS WELL AS THE POLITICIANS. WORLD NOT FAIR, SO DONT BE FAIR TO THE WORLD, ITS THE SAME SAYING IF I DIDNT EAT THE SHARK, SHARK SHOULD NOT EAT ME. GET OVER AND STAND UP AGAINST GOVERNMENT AND WHO IS WITH THEM, DESERVES TO DIE IN THE WAR FOR ENSLAVEMENT AND OTHER FOR THE FREEDOM.

I just have an issue with the blame on the guns.. That city has the strictest gun laws of the entire country. They have completely disarmed their primary defense (constitutionally speaking, though that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone anymore): The law-abiding people.

Crime from NAFTA = SEND ALL THE JOBS TO China make the people turn to crime. The Cloward–Piven strategy… Less guns = more crime. If the thugs thought there next victim may be packing I’ll bet 99% they would think twice.

There is no research or real life statistics showing that more guns = less violence. This is the most asanine statement. Statistically more weapons ALWAYS equal more violence. You can look at societies were everyone is armed and they have the highest crime rates.

The city with a gun ban is the deadliest city in America. When will liberals listen to the fact. If you ban guns, the honest good citizens can’t defend themselves. Therefore, will not help police in fear of retaliation.

Criminals don’t need a gun store to get a gun. They acquire them illegally EVEN, making the parts themselves.

I know this because I am not as ignorant and as sheltered as silver spoon fed liberals often are. I grew up in a poor neighborhood. I have been shot, stabbed more than once and served in the Army as a combat medic.

EVIL, EVIL GUNS !!!!!! THEY JUST JUMP UP AND KILL ANYBODY INNOCENTLY STANDING AROUND DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING !!!!………. B.S.
IT’S SO FUNNY THAT CHICAGO HAS THE MOST STRINGENT GUN LAWS IN THE COUNTRY…… YET THEY HAVE THE HIGHEST HOMICIDE RATE ALSO!!
O M G, HOW CAN THAT BE ?
THE LIBERALS NEED TO TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AT THEIR HATRED OF GUNS AND TURN THAT HATRED TO THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT THAT SOMETIMES USES THEM. A LOT MORE HONEST, LAW ABIDING PEOPLE LEGALLY OWN GUNS YET THE UNEDUCATED ANTI-GUN GROUPS WANT TO SINGLE THEM OUT AND PUNISH THEM.
THE LIBERAL POLITICAL MACHINE HAS MANAGED TO TURN CHICAGO AND MOST OF ILLINOIS INTO ONE OF THE MOST CORRUPT CITIES IN THE NATION ! !
I GREW UP ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN ILLINOIS. THE LAST VISIT TO MY OLD NEIGHBORHOOD LEFT ME IN TEARS…. AND I NEVER RETURNED ! I LEFT THE STATE OF CORRUPTION (ILL) WITHIN THREE WEEKS AFTER I RETIRED. CHICAGO WILL BE JUST A DECAYING EXPANSE OF LAND, LIKE DETROIT, IN A FEW MORE YEARS………… TOO BAD.

There is nothing like poor neighborhood, you can move to different places. What are you hiding and mostly the marginalizing and when people have accepted their fate to be decided by someone else? People need to wake up, education is the only way to fight all this issue, parents need to move no one is tying any one and mostly the fear that I see in a lot of people, “white neighborhood” black neighborhood” and “Mexican neighborhood”. And, the stupidity that I hear all the time about slavery this is 2014, you can change your destiny or die blaming others, Chinese and Japanese people were discriminated and guess what they went to school and maximized on their opportunities. Black, white, Mexican, etc., it’s sad that no one takes responsibility, who will replace the aging population when you have kids that are so entitled and lack responsibility, no one worries about where we will be 10 years from now. This is the failure of the government, followed by the veil of ignorance (information is an asset, know what’s going on around you or you will be puppet for someone else) and both democrat and republican, lack of individual responsibility, we preach hate and expect something different. We are failing as the nation, mostly when we are sliding downwards on math’s and science, we have settled as we let the other world take the lead and sits and blame it on someone else, Obama has done what he could to help and it’s time to step up and pull your pants up and do your part. It’s not talking down to anyone, but it’s stupid that someone can kill another person for drugs, killing young kids and raping that happens and people are still living in this neighborhood, this is a free country, you can move……… out of Chicago

Most comments I’ve read haven’t mentioned Chicago’s history of tough anti-gun-ownership laws. The anti-gun people just can’t get it through their heads (in spite of statistical proof) that when law-abiding people are unarmed, crime and killings rise!
Yeah!!! Chicago voters . . . you got what you deserve – all the guns in the hands of gangs and criminals! The most crime-infested city in the nation, that you can be truly be proud of . . . more murder deaths than those caused by war in the middle east.
Some time ago an extreme anti-gun advocate woman was asked questions similar to these: “If you knew it would take the police 5-10 minutes to arrive, and you were face to face with a killer who would shoot or stab you long before police could get there, don’t you think it would be wise to have a gun to protect your self?” Her answer: “NO.” Then she was asked: “In other words you believe you should just stand there helplessly and be killed?” Her blank-faced answer: “YES.”

Listen, very carefully, to the song by a band called Paper Lace. The song is called “The Night Chicago Died”. If the violence is Chicago is so bad, pinpoint the hottest areas and send in the militia. It may sound stupid, but those thugs and lowlifes in Chicago are doing more damage to AMERICANS on AMERICAN SOIL. Consider the gangs to be a cancerous tumor. What do you do to a tumor?

One thing this article fails to mention is that the past and present administrations have let the number of Police Officers working the streets of Chicago to fall by several thousand Officers. That and the fact that there is no fear or respect regarding the Police fuels the murder rate.

A people with out God is a doomed people. We get our lives and rights from God. Only God has the right to take a life. Natural law which comes from God allows one to defend himself. Until you are challenged you must not kill. Thou Shalt not murder is different from thou shalt not kill. Murder is calculated and ungodly. Killing is defending ones life. Murder is the opposite of love. Love thy neighbor as thy self. If you should be killed unjustly the God fearing people will remember you and ask justice from the creator. The perpetrator will come to justice upon his death and suffer eternal Hell. Hell is denial into the Gates of Heaven to be with your loved one. Eternal damnation is way worse than being murdered. Think about it.

Look at some basic numbers concerning police. Chicago has about 12-13 K police for a population of 2.7 million. New York has a police force of about 48 – 50 K for a population of about 8 million. Even given this overwhelming difference in police to population ratio, I think that New York’s police force is too small. All numbers sourced from Wikipedia.

Grew up in Chicago,Great place till ya have kids.Then ya gotta go elsewhere.I knew everybody,My Sunday mornings were spent on Maxwell street.I went all over the city in and out of everybody’s homes.I fixed fridges,stoves.And the crime is nothing compared to Los Angel es.Down there you are hated,cause of your skin.And they kill for nothing.The numbers they post are not true,There have been 65000 killed since 07 on and around the border.And they wont even mention it?????????? The media is corrupt and they tell only what benefits their cause.

yes you re right president O bama got his start in illinos politics so he’s better equip to deal with the crime and gangs there especially in Chicago…its better to be a solution to this situation than being part off the problem that was created before he came into office…he will probably be known as one of the greatest American presidents since the late JFK working toward his efforts to accomplish this.

Gee Clifford Jackson (last blogger listed above); if BHO is such a great leader, you would think that in his brief “turns” as State Senator and United States Senator from the State of Illinois he would have at the very least posited solutions to what you so artfully describe as the crime “problem that was created before he came into office.” Well he has spent more than a decade in the highest elective office in the United States and legislative roles covering one of the largest states and also the third largest city in the entire country and you know what? On the internet years later (like now) of any coherent plan to end violence in the formerly great city of Chicago. When pray tell is who you have just portrayed as “one of the greatest American presidents since the late JFK working … to accomplish this” (accomplish precisely what?) going to launch his secret plan to make his adopted hometown safe again?

Dear Sir; please wake up and make your way out of the land of Democratic party fantasy and learn about alternative approaches to increasing the health, safety and prosperity of your community. Perhaps even consider voting for a Republican for once in your life and find out what all the hullabaloo was about when in 1861, one of the very first Republicans, your state’s very own Presidente Abraham Lincoln, led our nation into war to protect our Constitutional form of government and also to liberate the four million southern slaves. Read your history man! And learn.

After reading all the comments on this page I would like to humbly make an observation. The two party system as it is comprised today is meant to polarize and divide this great nation. It is propagated by all forms of mass media and the unrestricted way money flows into politics. Both parties are essentially one of the same and neither offer the answers we need. The government is incapable of adapting to 21st century problems. This kind of bickering between us (the people) solves nothing and feeds into exactly what both of these parties want us to do.

Say what you want about Bush, but Obama has BY FAR been the most racially divisive president this country has ever had. It’s not a coincidence that Chicago is where he came from (and learned his dirty politics) because Chitown is the most racially divided big city in the whole nation. Racists like Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright and Jesse Jackson all have their HQs there and spend lots of time spewing their race hatred there. Barry Obama grew up with his white mom & white grandparents and despises the fact he is half-white. So he tries to prove how “black” he is by siding with thugs like Michael Brown and sending his racist boy Eric Holder to stir the pot in Ferguson and across the nation. Obama campaigned on bringing America into a “post-racial” era but has divided the country worse than any president before him. Obama is just as bad as white racist George Wallace when he ran for president in 1968, but fortunately he never got elected. America needs more black men like Jonathan Gentry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B092acMImJE

Sounds like the Gang members are killing each other, why do we care. now if we could put all the gang members in building and put the rival gang members next door in a similar building, we could get rid of our gang members, just let them cancel each other out

I have lived in Chicago my whole life. I love this city. It’s cleaner than NY and a hella lot safer too. I’m a recovering addict so, I know the hood and just like anywhere else “You learn how to treat other people right, other people probably treat you cool” I was once warned to move my car, as some s^&* was about to go down. Don’t hate—appreciate!

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CrimeWire is your destination for hilarious, shareable content about crime, social media, relationships, and online safety. Our intrepid team of bloggers scours the web each and every day to create information-based media content with an entertaining twist for our readers.